Yemeni armed tribesmen announces ceasefire with gov't forces

SANAA, May 27 (Xinhua) -- A truce was announced on Friday by opposition tribal leader Sadiq al-Ahmar to end five consecutive days of pitched street battles between his armed tribesmen and government forces in Yemen's capital.

"There is a ceasefire between our fighters and (Yemeni President) Saleh's forces in Hassaba district in downtown Sanaa," said Sadiq al-Ahmar, chief of the powerful tribal coalition Hashid.

Al-Ahmar confirmed the cease-fire deal following Friday prayer outside Sanaa University, in which tens of thousands of anti- government protesters mourned the death of 30 members of al-Ahmar' s fighters.

He said the deal was brokered by a tribal mediation.

There was no immediate comment by the government.

According to a source at al-Ahmar's office, the cease-fire deal stipulated that al-Ahmar should hand over the government buildings they had occupied to the mediation committee within two days.

The pitched street battles erupted on Monday, a day after President Saleh's refusal to sign a Gulf-brokered deal for the third time, which was considered by local observers as the beginning of a civil war.

The five-day-long battles have left hundreds of people dead as al-Ahmar's fighters managed to seize several government buildings and ministries.

Many residents in the capital have been departing for remote countryside in other provinces due to the intensification of random bombings.